1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser treatment apparatus having a multi-articulated arm.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been known a laser treatment apparatus for performing treatment by irradiating a part to be treated by a laser beam for treatment. For instance, a laser treatment apparatus which emits a carbon dioxide laser beam having infrared wavelengths has been used for plastic treatment for removing wrinkles, birthmarks, etc. of patients.
In an apparatus of this type, the treatment beam emitted from a laser source is guided through a multi-articulated arm to a hand-piece mounted on an end of the arm and emerges therefrom to irradiate a treatment part. The arm is provided with a plurality of light delivery pipes and joints each jointing the pipes. In each joint, a reflection mirror is disposed. An operator manipulates the arm to position or put the hand-piece onto a target treatment part.
If treatment needs to be performed on a wide range, for instance, the arm may not be long enough to reach a target treatment part. In this case, the operator needs to move a main unit of the apparatus until the hand-piece can reach the treatment part. This work would be troublesome to the operator and cause a delay in treatment. If a fixed total length of the arm is made too long to solve the above problem, it would be hard to handle.